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“Lost Tribe” in Canada

While I was completing my doctoral work examining the creative expression abilities of seniors with dementia and the therapeutic environment they lived in, I continued working in the Creative Expression Activities Program I had developed. Early in 2000, a group…

Jewish life in the Okanagan

photo - The Okanagan Jewish community’s Chanukah celebration Dec. 12

The Okanagan Jewish community’s Chanukah celebration Dec. 12. (photos from OJCA) The Okanagan Jewish community has had an active last few months. Services were held Dec. 9 and 10, led by Rabbi Shaul Osadchey, as well as Jan. 20 and…

Rose’s Angels package care

photo - Rose’s Angels co-founders Courtney Cohen, left, and Lynne Fader, surrounded by some of the 60 volunteers who came out Feb. 12 to make 1,000 care packages for those less fortunate

Rose’s Angels co-founders Courtney Cohen, left, and Lynne Fader, surrounded by some of the 60 volunteers who came out Feb. 12 to make 1,000 care packages for those less fortunate. (photos by Lianne Cohen Photography) On Feb. 12, this year’s…

Students share their views

photo - Public Speaking Contest founders Larry Barzelai and Rhona Gordon give out trophies for this year’s contest winners

Public Speaking Contest founders Larry Barzelai and Rhona Gordon give out trophies for this year’s contest winners. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay) On the evening of Feb. 1, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver was buzzing with activity. Students, parents,…

More than a mere contract

photo - An outer space-themed ketubah designed by thisisnotaketubah.com

An outer space-themed ketubah designed by thisisnotaketubah.com. Judging from its ritual text, the ketubah (marriage contract) that is read aloud during a Jewish wedding ceremony isn’t the most exciting, romantic or joyous document. It spells out a husband’s fundamental Jewish…

מכוניות בנהיגה עצמית

screenshot - BlackBerry goes down the road: to invest a hundred million software development project self-driving cars

בלקברי יורדת לכביש: תשקיע כמאה מיליון דולר בפרוייקט לפיתוח תוכנה למכוניות בנהיגה עצמית. (qnx.com) יצרנית הסמארטפונס הקנדית המקרטעת בלקברי נכנסת לתחום פעילות חדש. החברה הודיעה לאחרונה כי היא תשקיע כמאה מיליון דולר קנדי (שהם כשבעים ושישה מיליון דולר אמריקני), בהקמת…

Bagel Club travels to Israel

photo - The Bagel Club will volunteer at Shalva, the Israel Association for the Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, when they are in Israel

The Bagel Club will volunteer at Shalva, the Israel Association for the Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, when they are in Israel. (photo from shalva.org) The mission of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver’s inclusion services is…

Singing around the world

photo - Maya Avraham will perform on March 7 at Rothstein Theatre, as part of the Chutzpah! Festival

Maya Avraham will perform on March 7 at Rothstein Theatre, as part of the Chutzpah! Festival. (photo from Chutzpah!) With two highly praised albums under her belt and a third one in the works, Maya Avraham has come a long…

Inciting violence

On Feb. 6, Igor Sadikov, an elected student representative at McGill University, tweeted “punch a zionist today” (sic). The statement stirred some reaction, though not the universal revulsion that should greet incitement to political violence in Canada. The Student Society…

Student’s first meeting with survivor

Writing Lives is an initiative at Langara College, coordinated by instructor Dr. Rachel Mines, in which second-year students are teamed up with local Holocaust survivors to interview them and write memoirs of their lives before, during and after the Holocaust.…

Chatting with my father’s G-d

I am 69 years old and I have been living with multiple sclerosis for the last 29 years. During that time, my disability has affected my spirituality, and vice versa. I grew up with Orthodox Jewish maternal grandparents in the…

2017 Dan David Prize winners

photo - Author Jamaica Kincaid is among the Dan David Prize winners this year

Author Jamaica Kincaid is among the Dan David Prize winners this year. (photo from TAU via Ashernet) Tel Aviv University (TAU) has announced the winners of this year’s Dan David Prize, which will be awarded at a ceremony at TAU on…

פיילין נחשבת למועמדת

photo - Sarah Palin candidate for the U.S. embassy in Canada?

שרה פיילין מועמדת לשגרירת ארה“ב בקנדה? (צילום: Therealbs2002 via Wikimedia Commons) שרה פיילין נחשבת למועמדת לתפקיד שגרירת ארצות הברית בקנדה. כך פורסם בהרחבה בתקשורת הקנדית והבינלאומית בימים האחרונים. פיילין ששימשה מושלת מדינת אלסקה בשנים 2006-2009 הייתה בין הראשונים להתייצב לצידו…

Oberlander to be honoured

photo - Cornelia Oberlander collaborated with architect Arthur Erickson on many projects, including the Downtown Vancouver Law Courts

Cornelia Oberlander collaborated with architect Arthur Erickson on many projects, including the Downtown Vancouver Law Courts. (photo by Joe Mabel via commons.wikimedia.org) At 95 years old, landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander can look back on a string of stellar accomplishments.…

Questions encouraged

photo - Sam Bob is one of seven šxʷʔam̓ət, cast members. The play will run at Firehall Arts Centre March 3-11

Sam Bob is one of seven šxʷʔam̓ət, cast members. The play will run at Firehall Arts Centre March 3-11. (photo by David Cooper, design by Dafne Blanco) Vancouver theatre director David Diamond, who founded the Theatre for Living 36 years…

Wrestling with complexities

photo - In Wrestling Jerusalem, which is at Chutzpah! March 1 and 2, Aaron Davidman tries to understand the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

In Wrestling Jerusalem, which is at Chutzpah! March 1 and 2, Aaron Davidman tries to understand the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (photo by Ken Friedman) Most of us have an opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But how many of…

Choose to shine light

While settling into a fresh hotel room, one may be tempted to open drawers and doors, survey the facilities, and thumb through the room service menus or local entertainment guides that are usually provided to help guests plan outings. There’s…

Come together, right now

Canadians – and concerned citizens worldwide – are reeling from the horrific attack on a Quebec City mosque (the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec) on Jan. 29 that left six dead and others wounded. Amid the revulsion and grieving, here…

Importance of transparency

photo - Stav Daron’s application to the Island School of Building Arts was initially rejected because he is Israeli. After public pressure, the school reversed its decision and apologized

Stav Daron’s application to the Island School of Building Arts was initially rejected because he is Israeli. After public pressure, the school reversed its decision and apologized. (photo from facebook.com) Now that the sawdust has settled on the controversy around…

Removing graffiti full-time

photo - Corey Fleischer volunteers most of his time to removing hateful graffiti

Corey Fleischer volunteers most of his time to removing hateful graffiti. (photo from Corey Fleischer) When Montrealer Corey Fleischer finished university, he was unsure of what career path to take. In the interim, to pay the rent, so to speak,…

Mobile legal services

photo - About five percent of Adam Brosgall’s legal practice is dedicated to offering mobile services

About five percent of Adam Brosgall’s legal practice is dedicated to offering mobile services. (photo from Adam Brosgall) While providing mobile legal services is only a small portion of what lawyer, notary public and commissioner of oaths Adam Brosgall does,…

Eight rungs of tzedakah

photo - Little Free Libraries are open 24/7 in cities across Canada

Little Free Libraries are open 24/7 in cities across Canada. (photo by Josie Tonio McCarthy) Have you heard of the Little Free Library movement? It’s a way for neighbours to exchange books. Throughout Winnipeg, Vancouver and other cities, there are…

Israel’s first whisky distillery

photo - Tours and tastings of Milk and Honey distillery can be booked on certain days

Tours and tastings of Milk and Honey distillery can be booked on certain days. (photo by Ariel Fields) Is a Bronfman family saga about to begin again? While it has a ways to go before reaching the heights of the…

News, democracy and trust

chart - Vanishing Newspaper, from Shattered Mirror Report

The Shattered Mirror: News, Democracy and Trust in the Digital Age, released on Jan. 26 by the Public Policy Forum, shines a light on the news industry in Canada, revealing it is reaching a crisis point as the decline of…

Goodbye, airport

photo - An Arkia plane lands at Eilat Airport

An Arkia plane lands at Eilat Airport. (photo from Ashernet) Ever since 1949, Eilat Airport has been an important link between the resort city of Eilat on the Red Sea and the busy central part of Israel. However, it is…

Terrific music and message

photo - David Broza (below) will be joined by Mira Awad in concert on Feb. 28, as part of this year’s Chutzpah! Festival

David Broza (below) will be joined by Mira Awad in concert on Feb. 28, as part of this year’s Chutzpah! Festival. (photo by Nahum Leder) Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza is returning to Vancouver – and he’ll be joined by friend…

Maya Rae launches first CD

photo - Maya Rae performs on Feb. 23 at Frankie’s Jazz Club

Maya Rae performs on Feb. 23 at Frankie’s Jazz Club. (photo by Saffron Kelly) Vancouver jazz singer-songwriter Maya Rae will celebrate the release of her debut CD, Sapphire Birds, on Feb. 23 at Frankie’s Jazz Club. The album was produced…

The time to act is now

photo - Temple Sholom Rabbi Dan Moskovitz addresses a Concerned Canadian Clergy for Refugees multi-faith clergy press conference at Jack Poole Plaza in Downtown Vancouver on Jan. 29

Temple Sholom Rabbi Dan Moskovitz addresses a Concerned Canadian Clergy for Refugees multi-faith clergy press conference at Jack Poole Plaza in Downtown Vancouver on Jan. 29. (screenshot) The murders at a Quebec City-area mosque Sunday night shattered our sense of Canadian…

Food connects generations

photo - Ken Levitt, president of Jewish Seniors Alliance, and Leah Deslauriers, coordinator of JCC Seniors and L’Chaim Adult Day Centre

Ken Levitt, president of Jewish Seniors Alliance, and Leah Deslauriers, coordinator of JCC Seniors and L’Chaim Adult Day Centre. (photo by Binny Goldman) On Jan. 25, a treat awaited all who attended the screening at the Jewish Community Centre of…

Education symposium

photo - Left to right, panelists Rabbi Don Pacht, Abba Brodt, Ellen Wiesenthal and Lu Winters with moderator Sherri Barkoff)

Left to right, panelists Rabbi Don Pacht, Abba Brodt, Ellen Wiesenthal and Lu Winters with moderator Sherri Barkoff. (photo from the Bayit) On the night of Jan. 24, four leading Jewish educators were panelists for the symposium Think Education, hosted…